www.insidewaste.com.au
ISSUE 106 | FEB/MAR 2022
INSIDE 30 38 44
Hazardous Waste Textile Stewardship Grafil lawsuit fallout
How to get rid of residual waste
Going nuclear on waste – is Kimba the answer? just outside the town of Kimba, on South Australia’s Ayre Peninsula. And while the Minister of Resources and Water, Keith Pitt, is adamant that the community is behind the project – and with its jobs and economic benefits, why wouldn’t they be – not everybody is convinced it is a good idea. One such person is Dave Sweeney, who is a national nuclear campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF). He has several issues with the site, the two main ones being what he sees as a lack of consultation with the traditional owners of the land, as well as concern about how the government is managing the approach to the different waste streams that have different properties. There are going to be two main types of nuclear waste deposited at the site – waste
from nuclear medicine, which is important mainly in the treatment of various cancers, and Intermediate Level Waste or ILW – the waste from the nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights. It is the latter that has Sweeney most concerned. “The choice of Kimba is a suboptimal choice for the longer, more important question of, ‘what do we do with our ILW?’” he said. “If you look at ANSTO, it has overwhelmingly superior assets for extended interim storage of this waste. There is high security, with 24/7 federal police onsite, secure tenure, and the community acceptance of the facility in the local Sutherland Shire. The material is already there, and there is the highest emergency response and monitoring capacity for nuclear material in Australia. (Continued on page 24)
PP: 100024538
ISSN 1837-5618
AUSTRALIA doesn’t have a huge history when it comes to nuclear energy/power compared to its European and North American cousins. But the little of it we do have, still causes emotive responses from those who see its pros or cons. Currently the only nuclear reactor the country has sits on the periphery of southern Sydney at Lucas Heights. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) site has been handling the vast majority of low level nuclear waste since it opened in 1958, while some hospitals around the nation also have some storage of used items, which include gloves, gowns, needles and other medical gear. It has taken almost 40 years, but a decision has been made about where a permanent site for the burying and disposal of nuclear waste will be –
HAVING a complete circular economy – as it stands – is a pipe dream. The current mantra of reduce, reuse, repair and recycle is good, but only for those waste streams where it is possible to do so. Currently – with plastic being the obvious example – there are too many products that will always leave a permanent scar on the circular economy landscape. This is because once they have gone through the wringer of being reused, recycled etc, there will still be the residual afterglow that has to be destroyed while making minimal impact on the environment. The green lobby believe that the companies that use products that create residual waste need to try harder in terms of making them biodegradable and compostable, so the residue doesn’t end up in landfill or incinerated. However, in practical terms, it will be some time before such products become the norm. And when they do become available, there is so much residual waste out in the community, it will be decades before it is taken care of to the degree that those at the cutting-edge of environmentalism would like. This means the issues are: can Australia get rid of these nuisance waste streams in the most environmentally friendly way, and at a cost-effective price? There are two main ways of doing so after all other options have been exhausted – landfill and incineration. In the not too distant past, these were the literal answers – burn it or bury it. (Continued on page 26)
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